FDR Drive tear-down and Manhattan land
extension eyed in Downtown fl ood plan
BY RACHEL HOLLIDAY SMITH AND
SAMANTHA MALDONADO
THE CITY
A higher waterfront and a lower
highway may be on tap for Lower
Manhattan.
The city has a new proposal for protecting
the Financial District and Seaport from
future fl ooding: extending the eastern edge
of Manhattan’s tip by up to 188 feet —
while raising the shoreline and possibly
taking down the elevated FDR Drive from
the Brooklyn Bridge to the Battery.
The city’s Economic Development Corporation
plans to reveal a master plan for
the FiDi – Seaport resilience project —fi rst
proposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2019
as a possible 500-foot extension of Lower
Manhattan into the harbor — by the end
of the year.
The concept developed from big-picture
thinking following Superstorm Sandy
about how to protect low-lying parts of
the island. In the Financial District, daily
high tides will likely fl ood the area two to
three blocks inland by 2100, according to
the EDC’s analysis of Federal Emergency
Management Agency data. By then, coastal
storms could surge 18 feet above the current
esplanade.
And within that section of Manhattan is
a dizzying array of critical infrastructure,
both below ground and above — including
subway tunnels, offi ce buildings, homes
and utilities.
“I can’t imagine anywhere in the United
States that is a bigger conundrum in terms
of resilience infrastructure,” said Melanie
Dupuis, a Pace University environmental
The FDR Drive and the eastside of Lower Manhattan could look dramatically
different after a flood-resiliency project.
studies and science professor who has been
keeping an eye on the project. “If they can
solve that one they can solve anything.
They’ll have to solve it with money and lots
of very innovative engineering.”
At the EDC’s last meeting on Nov. 4, the
agency outlined its latest proposal for the
nearly mile-long stretch of waterfront on
the east side of Lower Manhattan. According
to multiple members of the group and
parts of EDC’s presentation shared with
THE CITY, the proposal has morphed
signifi cantly since the 2019 announcement.
The vision for a landfi ll extension into the
harbor will likely not run 500 feet, but will
instead add sections between 90 feet and
188 feet at various points off the current
eastern edge of the island’s triangular end.
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURAN
Also trimmed is the idea that the new
landmass could provide development sites
for large, revenue-generating new buildings.
The EDC’s current plan includes the
possibility of small, one- or two-story new
structures, but “no larger residential or
offi ce” buildings, a slide from the Nov. 4
presentation reads.
Big change could be coming to the FDR
Drive: The EDC is considering removing
the current elevated highway that runs
from the Brooklyn Bridge down to The
Battery and replacing the stretch with a
street-level roadway.
Elijah Hutchinson, EDC’s vice president
of neighborhood strategies, stressed that
the highway’s removal is not defi nite.
“We’re not proposing to remove the FDR
Drive as part of this project, but what we
are doing is designing it in a way so that we
know if at some future date someone decides
that the FDR Drive doesn’t need to be
there anymore as a piece of infrastructure,
our project still works,” he told THE CITY.
The overall plan is several years and billions
of dollars away from becoming reality.
The EDC is still talking to relevant parties
and needs to secure funding for the project,
whether federal or otherwise.
One advisory group member who spoke
with THE CITY about the plan on the
condition of anonymity called it “wishful
thinking right now.”
“They’re looking at anywhere from $5
to $10 billion. They haven’t really priced
it all out yet,” he said. “Taking down the
FDR at this point would cost a signifi cant
amount of money.”
Still, Lower Manhattan residents THE
CITY spoke with are taking seriously the
EDC’s proposal, developed with input from
about 30 community and resiliency advocacy
groups, as well as members of local
community boards and elected offi cials.
To Catherine McVay Hughes, a member
of the project’s advisory group, removing
the elevated highway “is a huge transformative
opportunity for the east side.”
“People are very supportive of taking
down the FDR. We need to invest in
sneakers and bikes,” said McVay Hughes,
a Financial District resident for more than
30 years and a former chair of Manhattan’s
Community Board 1. “If we’re going to
transition away from a fossil fuel environment,
it’s important to give people the opportunity
to safely walk and bike around.”
This article was originally published
on Nov. 15 at 7:23pm EST by THE CITY,
an independent, nonprofi t news outlet
dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that
serves the people of New York. Read more
at thecity.nyc.
Chatty crooks duped East Village man, drained bank accounts
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Police need the public’s help in fi nding two individuals
who robbed a man in the East Village earlier this
month and drained his bank accounts.
The NYPD released on Nov. 16 video footage of one
suspect involved in the caper which occurred at about 3
a.m. on Nov. 9 in the area of 1st Avenue and East 4th
Street.
Law enforcement sources said the crooks approached
the 26-year-old male victim as he walked through the area
and eventually coerced him into smoking an unidentifi ed
substance. Sources familiar with the investigation indicated
that he may have been inebriated prior to the incident.
Moments later, authorities reported, the suspects
forced the man into a nearby car, where he lost consciousness.
Police said they then removed his cellphone
and accessed several of the man’s bank accounts, without
his permission, and transferred $4,500 in cash from
them.
The perpetrators then fl ed the scene in an unknown
direction.
The incident was reported to the 9th Precinct. The
victim did not suffer any injuries.
As shown on video, one of the suspects engages in a
chat with a man near the crime scene on the morning of
the robbery.
Anyone with information regarding the heist or
the robbers’ whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at
800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA).
PHOTO COURTESY OF NYPD
The two robbery suspects.
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